As of two days ago, Illinois became the 18th state with a law prohibiting bad faith assertions of patent infringement. (That is, fraudulent demand letters.) It seems that if Congress won’t act, the states will do whatever they can (which is limited) to deal with patent trolls.
Let’s hope that the next session of Congress will produce real help for businesses beleaguered by patent trolls.
NB: We keep the Patent Progress Guide to State Patent Reform Legislation updated, so keep checking back!